Be Subject to a Mentor [Awakening Faith]
Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience. (1 Timothy 1:18 – 19)
If you are pompous and powerful and rich, it is necessary for you to have a godly mentor and teacher. Learn reverence, even if it starts with one person, and learn fear, even if it starts with the same person. Learn how to listen to at least one individual at first, who speaks harshly but with healing words. It is good for your eyes to not always seek pleasure, but to sometimes weep and feel pain for the sake of spiritual health.
There is nothing more harmful to the soul than uninterrupted pleasure, and your tears will wash away your blindness, if your mentor’s instruction does not cure it. Fear this man (or woman) when he is angry; feel pain at his disappointment; praise him when his anger abates; and learn when you are deserving of punishment. Let him lose sleep over you, interceding to God on your behalf with prayers and supplications, because the Father does not withhold mercy when his children ask for it. He will pray purely for you like an angel of God, struggling on your behalf.
This is sincere repentance. God is not mocked (Gal. 6:7), nor does he listen to superficial prayers. He searches the marrow and knows the heart of humanity, hears those who are in the fire, and listens to those who call out to him from the whale’s belly (Jonah 2). He is near to whoever believes and far from the ungodly if they do not repent.
Clement of Alexandria
Awakening Faith: Daily Devotionals from the Early Church
Awakening Faith: Daily Devotionals from the Early Churchby James Stuart Bell and Patrick J. Kelly
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